According to an expert: Hair extension creates the illusion of long, flowing hair but can cause damage to the scalp permanently.

The beauty trend is popularized by celebrities including Britney Spears, Teri Hatcher and Jennifer Aniston but another bad side to the seemingly harmless practice is Traction Alopecia.

Vetta Thompson, a hair and scalp expert with the National Center of Trichology in Jackonsville, Fla. He said “Traction Alopecia is a self induced hair loss”. The person loses the hair slowly even noticing. It becomes chronic hair loss which can be caused by braids or ponytails.

Jie Matar, a hairstylist in Toronto agreed with Thompson. He said “It can really damage your cuticle when you are creating stress on the roots and weight”.

It is estimated of 40% to 50% women in Canada suffered hair loss before Menopause. One of this is Natalie Friedman of Toronto who had losing hair while using a clip-on hair extension. Friedman said regarding the scalp injury “There was a cut on the scalp and that’s where the hair loss started”. She said she wants thicker, longer stresses to help find work as a bartender.

Jie Matar refuses to fuse or glue a hair extension to the scalp of their clients like Friedman, told sewing an extension on to a braid is a safer options to protects the hair from breaking.